I'm trying to keep a log of all the things we cook which taste really lovely. You know what it's like: you tweak and tweak a recipe until it's barely recognisable and then wonder how you used to make it. And it will also save a lot of time and bits of paper when it comes to sharing those recipes with friends.

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Spiced Chicken with Prunes

Start this the night before by sprinkling 3 chicken breasts (each one cut into 3 pieces) with a chopped up garlic clove, a scant tablespoon of chopped fresh mint and parsley, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon each of dried ginger, ground coriander and cinnamon, half a teaspoon each of turmeric and chilli flakes and the juice of half a lemon. Put this in the fridge, covered.

At the same time, steep 200g prunes in 2 teaspoons of honey and enough boiling water to cover. Leave this at room temperature.

The next day, preheat your oven to 180 degrees, then fry 2 sliced onions with 2 crushed cloves of garlic in some olive oil and a little salt. Use a hob-friendly, ovenproof pan for this. When the onion is soft, add the chicken breasts to the pan, and turn the heat up to colour. Add a little more oil if necessary. Sprinkle with a some nutmeg and black pepper. Once both sides of the chicken breasts are golden, add a sliced red pepper and a sliced yellow pepper. Stir well, then add half a pint of chicken stock (from a stock cube is fine). Bring to the boil, then put a lid on and pop the casserole into a medium oven (180 degrees) for half an hour.

After 30 minutes, add the zest of a lemon and and the prunes. Put it back in the oven for a further 10 minutes. After that, stir in some fresh mint, parsley and a couple of handfuls of chopped spinach. Leave it to sit for a couple of minutes, stir again and check for salt and then serve with couscous or rice and a further sprinkling of zest and parsley.